SARA JONES
Music Education, Assistant Professor

Sara Jones is completing her Ph.D. in music education at Northwestern University. She received her Master of Music at Michigan State, and her Bachelor of Music Education at Baylor. A former public school teacher, Sara has taught elementary, middle, and high school band in Texas and undergraduate music courses at Northwestern University. She has also been an assistant music director for New Horizons Bands in Michigan and Illinois and sits on the board of the North Shore New Horizons Band.
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JOSH MICHAL
Horn, Assistant Professor

A native of Ohio, Josh Michal has performed regularly with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra.  He plays 4th horn with the Springfield (Ohio) Symphony Orchestra and 2nd horn with the Lancaster Music Festival. He has toured with the Boston Brass and has recently performed with the Charleston Symphony, Columbus Symphony, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Chicago Brass Ensemble and the Breckenridge Music Festival.
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EMILIANO RICCIARDI
Music History, Assistant Professor

Emiliano Ricciardi, formerly a Lecturer in the Music and Dance Department, was appointed Assistant Professor. He holds a Ph.D. in Musicology from Stanford University, which he completed in 2013 with the support of a Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Completion Fellowship. He holds also an M.Phil. in Historical Musicology from the University of Cambridge, UK, and a Diploma in Violin Performance from the Conservatory of Rome, Italy.
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MARIANNA RITCHEY
Music History, Lively Arts, Assistant Professor

Marianna Ritchey received her Ph.D. in musicology from UCLA. Her dissertation, entitled “Echoes of the Guillotine: Berlioz and the French Fantastic,” examined 19th-century music and culture, specifically relationships between the music of Hector Berlioz and the “fantastic” literature of Romantic-era France. She has presented papers at national and international conferences on topics ranging from Berlioz and Guy Maddin to the dies irae and Kenny G.
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JENNIFER M. SMITH
Music Theory, Lecturer

Jennifer M. Smith holds a Ph.D. in music theory from Florida State University, an M.M. from Bowling Green State University, and a B.A. from Anderson University.  She previously served as Visiting Assistant Professor of Music Theory at the University of Florida and as a graduate teaching assistant at Florida State and Bowling Green State.
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MATTHEW WESTGATE
Director of Wind Studies, Assistant Professor

Matthew Westgate was the Director of Instrumental Activities at Xavier University from 2008-2014, where he conducted the Symphonic Winds, Chamber Orchestra, and Xavier Pep Bands, and taught courses in Instrumental Methods and Advanced & Beginning Conducting to graduate and undergraduate music education students. In spring 2013, Matthew was awarded Cincy Magazine's "Outstanding Educator" Award for his work as a teacher and conductor in Cincinnati.
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